Starting a new brand is an exciting event that marks a crucial step in your life as a fashion entrepreneur. However, creating a unique brand from scratch is not an easy task. Why? Because a new brand must find its clients who don’t even know it exists yet.
That’s why having a launch plan is crucial. Every business needs a strong start, but it’s especially important when launching a brand because it needs to be portrayed in the best light.
So, whether you have nothing but a business idea or want to change the direction of your current branding strategy, here is all you need to know about how to launch a clothing brand.
What is a Brand Building?
A brand can be thought of as the concept or representation that consumers have in mind when considering particular goods or services of a business, both on a practical (“the jacket is comfortable ”) and an emotional level (“the jacket makes me feel beautiful”). Therefore, a brand is not merely defined by its external attributes but also by the feelings that customers have for a business or its goods.
The branding process, on the other hand, means imparting meaning to a certain company or product by creating and defining a brand in consumers’ perceptions. By defining what this specific brand is, businesses can help people immediately recognize and experience their brand and offer them a reason to prefer their products over those of the competition. By consistently delivering products that are in line with what the brand promises, the goal is to draw in and keep the support of devoted customers as well as other stakeholders.
How to Launch a Brand: A Checklist
So, how to launch a brand? Creating a new brand essentially boils down to 7 essential steps:
1. Research Your Target Market and Competition
Start by researching your audience because it will provide you with tips on how to draw them in. Define the people you need to reach and get to know them on a whole new level. Conduct surveys that reveal their interests and everyday struggles to establish a personal connection and learn what they need. When the brand is launched, you will be able to develop unique communication tactics for your audience using this special information rather than copying your competitors.
Still, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check who your main competitors are, what they are doing, and how they are reaching their audience. This will help you determine what your brand should focus on and how to set it apart from the crowd.
2. Define Your Mission Statement
You should consider your mission statement before developing your brand. Your mission should state “what you do,” “why you do it,” and “how you do it”. Having a mission statement that articulates your vision is crucial because consumers like supporting companies that have a defined objective that goes beyond making a profit.
For instance, Patagonia’s mission statement stays true to the company’s core values to give customers high-quality products while protecting the environment.
3. Pick a Memorable Name
Your brand name needs to be the foundation on which you develop your brand. Your brand logo, marketing materials, trademark filing, and URL will all be impacted by your name. However, selecting the perfect name can be a challenging task.
The ideal store name is one that’s difficult to copy and even more difficult to associate with other clothing businesses. Make sure your name is memorable and hasn’t already been taken by another company. It could take a while to come up with the ideal name but fortunately, internet name generators can help you come up with a catchy moniker.
4. Design Your Logo
A distinctive logo is what you need to get customers to think about your brand. Every single detail, from the color scheme to the typeface, can significantly contribute to the creation of something that evokes particular feelings. For instance, Chanel’s logo is simple and black, which indicates sophistication, luxury, and authority.
A brand logo is not simply a representation of your business; it is an indicator of your character, values, and purpose. Your logo should convey your unique identity to consumers and make you easy to recognize. Also, don’t worry if you ever feel like changing the appearance of your logo. Numerous companies have updated their logos to make them more contemporary, including GAP.
You also need to come up with a catchy tagline. Your brand’s objective should be highlighted in a brief sentence that serves as your tagline. Nike’s “Just do it” and Gas’s “Keep it simple” are excellent examples of catchy taglines.
5. Create Your Brand Personality
If you want your brand to last, your brand must have a distinct personality that will appeal to your target audience. It’s the easiest way to humanize your brand and make it more relevant to your potential customers.
In general, brands fall under one of the following five categories: excitement, sincerity, ruggedness, competence, and sophistication. For instance, Timberland displays a rather rugged, athletic, and outdoorsy personality, whereas Gucci is elegant and prestigious.
6. Establish Your Tone and Voice
Creating a distinctive tone and voice for your business is the best way to stand out from the competition. Your company’s “brand voice” is the personality you’ve developed for your business and it should not change regardless of the circumstances. On the other hand, your tone describes how you express and communicate in various contexts. Consequently, as opposed to your voice, you can change your tone depending on the type of information you produce.
A distinct voice will give your brand a more human quality and provide a unified customer experience across the customer’s journey. Additionally, by using the appropriate tone, you may convey your message more effectively while being true to your brand.
7. Choose the Channels to Promote Your Brand
As you might already know, promotion is a crucial part of brand building. Fortunately, there are many marketing tools available to business owners who want to develop their brands. It’s crucial to select the appropriate channels. Consider your target customers and the platforms they prefer to use in order to execute it correctly.
You can choose from a variety of options, ranging from SEO to artificial intelligence (AI) marketing, but two of the most cost-effective marketing channels you can use to promote your clothing brand include:
- Social media channels: Social channels are one of the most popular marketing platforms you can leverage to promote your new apparel brand. Naturally, you need to come up with a clever social media and content strategy in order to increase your visibility and reach as many potential clients as possible. You have the option of using sponsored or organic traffic or combining them for optimal results. If you want to increase organic traffic, you’ll need to create posts that will be engaging for your followers.
- Email marketing: With an estimated ROI of more than $40 for every $1 invested, email is one of the most effective ways to increase your revenue by raising brand awareness and nurturing leads. You may target your audience with email announcements, relevant content creation, and tailored messaging if you have the correct email marketing strategy in place.
Brand Launch Benefits
Building a strong brand means being able to offer not just goods and services but also meaning. In many respects, the foundation of a company’s success is its strong brand, which is the outcome of a successful brand strategy.
Building a strong brand takes time and ongoing work, yet a strong brand greatly boosts a company’s worth. It gives workers a sense of inspiration, community, and direction. It enables you to increase pricing and attract more clients without exerting any effort on your part.
Some of the most important benefits of launching a brand include:
- Increased recognition
- Improved customer loyalty
- Higher advertising effectiveness
- More applicants who are eager to work for your brand
The Bottom Line
There you have it, the tips outlined here should provide an answer to the question “How to launch a clothing brand.”
Having a launch strategy will make things a lot easier but keep in mind that developing a logo or tagline is just the beginning of developing a brand. Anywhere your clients interact with you, from the design of your site and the promotional materials you create to how you package and ship your goods, your brand needs to be present and consistent.
As you expose more people to your clothing brand, learn more about your target customers, and develop effective communication strategies, you’ll continue to mold and evolve its design and visual identity.
Using ERP software can help you establish your clothing brand as customer-centric by delivering personalized, exceptional customer service, among other things. Multifaceted apparel software like ApparelMagic, not only provides sharper logistics and insights, but can also lead to improved accuracy, better accessibility, enhanced collaboration, and customer feedback — all of which are key variables in the hunt for consistent sales success and positive brand image.
